October 1 Eastside Art Openings

What a perfect place for an art installation: an historic cemetery. Adventurous clay and media mixing sculptors Jacomijn Schellevis and Micki Skudlarczyk have worked together in Mexico, Europe and now in Southeast Portland. Her previous work captured the butchering of a cow in the small Mexican village of her art residency. That was followed by a stunning installation using the delicate tracery of the blood vessels defining our bodies' membranes, dried and preserved. All have touched the endless cycle of life and death. The work this evening are sugar sculptures installed in the cemetery. There is a group of boats, sailing West, in the part of the cemetery thought to have once held Chinese graves. The remains were likely disinterred and moved to China. Elsewhere in the cemetery is a tangle pile of coiled DNA model forms. They are offered to be broken by the audience into pieces to be consumed, or taken home. Very smart work, outstanding network of supporters, international, the perfect setting. More of this please, Portland. Park respectfully in the neighborhood, no parking in the cemetery. In collaboration with the Alicia Blue Gallery www.aliciabluegallery.com At Lone Fir Historic Cemetery, enter at the corner of SE 20th and Morrison. 5PM-10 Free


The Image is Invisible is a collaboration by Rebecca Steele and Posie Currin in sculpture, photography and video. At New American Art Union www.newamericanartunion.com 922 SE Ankeny 6PM-9ish Free



Newspace Photo is one of Portland's important gathering places for photographers. They have a rental studio for shooting, equipment, classes and a gallery. They are supported by members who have a chance this evening to show their work. It's at Newspace Photo www.newspacephoto.org 1632 SE 10th Free



Paula Keyth opens a perfect spooky dream October show of painting. At Golden Rule Gallery www.goldenruleportland.com 811 E Burnside, Suite 122 in the back Free



REDUX hosts their second annual Halloween show, Skulls and Crossbones. Artists include: Erin Jane Laroue, Johnny Murder, Brett Superstar, Penny Nickels, Barbara Feathers, Mary Tapogna, Pamela Davis, Beau Berkley, Ryan Berkley, Adam Burke, Beth Myrick, Richard Fox, Molly Wolfe, Cathy Pitters, Alea Bone, Juanita and D.R. At Redux www.reduxpdx.com 811 E Burnside Free



Car Hole continues combining smart curation with matching writing. This month is …ships passing in the night that neither signal nor recognize each other by Patricia No and Andrea Glaser. It's a rich metaphor presented in a dark intimate space.

"What must art works say, at night, moored to the walls of a gallery, facing one another? Some kind of discourse, some dialogue takes place between works when we are present, but can we imagine these romantic relationships to exist on the occasion of our absence? For these events, we are no longer the medium through which these interactions occur, rather, replaced by the darkened atmosphere that must transmit a visual communication. Or, must works of art rest and wait for someone to receive them? And what kind of reception will they receive when they are no longer solitary, but at home?

The title of October's programming at Car Hole Gallery derives from chapter 318 of Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet. Calling attention to the solitary nature of oceanic voyages, the single sentence chapter not only recalls human relations, but an epistemological solitude in the midst of objects and of time. Andrea Glaser's installation, Mick Eez(2010) takes as its focus the haunting and joyous countenance of Mickey Mouse. A project that began several months ago, Glaser developed Mick Eez by asking her friends to draw the cartoon mouse from memory. The collection, displayed as wallpaper, framed originals, fractals and fleshy, painted beer bottles, creates a mnemonic environment at the heart of advertising and influence, marking with humorous misrepresentations, the portrait of originality that remains a valuable commodity in our commercial culture. And, despite the archetypal Mickey to which the millions of reproductions aspire, they only create a Platonic library of off-products, always downstream from the face of Disney's promotional Frankenstein.

Patricia No's How to make a book (2010) is an ongoing series of works reconfiguring the production, distribution and insinuation of books. Cardboard box tops pasted with their photocopied surfaces or painted completely white displace a
viewer's initial recognition of an object, pairing the process of signification with the object itself. These works address a state of becoming, a simple mythology of self-recognition that comes from the process of representation and artifice, rather than the solitude of one's own reflection. ...ships passing in the night that neither signal nor recognize each other. finds within objects and images the constant, painful and humorous renegotiation required in the generation of new knowledge, a process of understanding that many do not seek, but all are subject to. " - Sam Korman

At Car Hole Gallery 114 SE 12th x Ankeny Free



I'm not deep into book arts and this blog doesn't focus on them. But how interesting to discover there is an international society dedicated to pop up books. It's the Movable Book Society. They cosponsor a show of pop up books at 23 Sandy this month, Pop-Up Now! With Portland's paper art madness, it could be a good research stop for people interested in making in this medium. At 23Sandy www.23sandy.com 623 NE 23 at Sandy 5PM-8 Free



Nemo Design has a motorcycle themed photo show Heavy Metal Heart. The photographers include Mark Welsh, Scott Pommier, Jon Humphries, Benji Wagner, Molly Quan, Jake Stangel, Phil Stern, Roger Seliner, Ray Gordon, Wez Lundry and Pasha. At Nemo Design www.studionemo.com 1875 SE Belmont 6PM-10 Free

Saptember 30-October 29 Portland Architecture and Design Festival

The Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects organizes a month of events: lectures, films, tours and exhibitions, many in partnership with other design concerns. You can see the whole program at legacy.aiaportland.org/ad10/events.

September 30 Last Thursday

Adrift Aloft is a project in this garage gallery by Nowhere, a Portland art collective. You know them by their travel trailer gallery that's been seen at many art events around town. They have also been residents at the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Given our unique position on the less settled left coast, where there is more land than people, they have a rich vein of inspiration to tap. Personally, I would like to see more art on the land and art inspired by land coming out of Portland. At Appendix Project Space. On the alley between 26th and 27th, South of Alberta. www.appendixspace.com Map 6-10ish Free

Terence Duvall has a performance installation. He is using the little garage gallery to write letters on actual paper an read actual books! At Little Field Gallery, on the alley between 28th and 29th North of Alberta. www.appendixspace.com Map 6-9ish Free



Portland artist Vanessa Calvert offers Residue: an installation based on reused objects. PSU MFA minted Calvert has made a good run of installations at Worksound. At False Front Studio www.falsefrontstudio.com 4518 NE 32nd Map 6-10 Free



Timothy Karpinsky makes illustration style drawings. Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed is his latest show at the gallery he founded. Also work by James Mitchell aka Nas Chompas aka Charlie Good-vibes and live music by Ocean Age. At Together Gallery www.togethergallery.com 2916 NE Alberta, Ste A Map



Ampersand specializes in vintage things of paper. This month they hew to a Halloween theme with a show of morgue photographs from the 1930's. Not sure if it is the best of strategies to keep your eyes closed for this show, or keep them open all night after seeing it. Amersand Vintage Printed Material www.ampersandvintage.com 2916 NE Alberta, Ste B. Map 6PM-10 Free



There is also a large show at the Goodfoot: I Am, Therefore I Think 4. The list of artists is varied and large: Abigail Vanghan, Adam Ciresi, Adam Sheppard, Ania Palinska, Anna Todaro, Ashley Costa, Azad Sadjadi, Ben Wilson, Beth Myrick, Brad Hamers, Brent Wick, Casey Rae Wickum Olsen, Chris Haberman, Chuck Bloom, Dan Ness, Derek Olsen, EMEK, Erin Nations, Furturtle, Gary Hirsch, Gary Houston, Guy Burwell, Harry Moritz, Heidi Elise Wirz, Hunter Armstrong, Ian Rodger, Icky A., J. Shea, Jason Grahm, Jason Wells, Jennifer Mercede, Jeremy e Schultz, Jesse Reno, Joel Barber, John Gajowski, John Graeter, John Howard, Johnny Tragedy, Jon Smith, Jonathon Hill-Jacquard, Justin Hampton, Kendra Binney, Kerisene Rose, Kevin Fitz, Larry Christensen, Lea “Luna” Littleleaf, Luke Dolkas, Mario Robert, Matt Schlosky, Michael Costello, Mike fields, Mike Klay, Nate Luna, Neil Perry, New Colony, Nicholas Orr, Richard Schemmerer, Ronni J, Sam Arneson, Sandy Fields, Scott Chase, Summer Hatfield, Tessa Hulls, Tim Combs, Todd Hinchman, Tripper Dungan III, Zach Baltzly, Zag Adams, some names you might recognize and others not. Same night as the Drink and Draw showcase. At the Goodfoot www.thegoodfoot.com/gallery 2845 SE Stark Map 5PM-11 Free

September 26 Researching Art Movement

The always interesting Research Club holds one of their signature pot luck brunch lectures. These small gatherings are an opportunity to meet other artists over a meal and hear short and interesting talks on a variety of subjects. Speakers include Lisa Radon, (art writer and artist), Wynde Dyer (from Golden Rule Gallery), Tory Abernathy (from Recess Gallery), and Kelly and Meredith from the Art Department. This event will be at the Art Department space. research-club.org 1315 SE 9th Noon-3 Free



Garages are a rich creative meme. In tech, HP, Apple and Google were started in garages. Garage band? Ever heard of that? Garages are home to movement too. An example is Brooklyn's MGM Grand: modern garage movement. MGM Grand makes site specific movement. They have performed in traditional dance spaces, galleries, museums, farms, libraries, nightclubs and retreats. How apropos after the Halpern visit. Tonight MGM Grand wraps a Portland tour. It's at Performance Works Northwest www.performanceworksnw.org 7PM $5-15



Former Portlander Eliza Fernand touches down in Portland at Nationale. Fernand is a sculptor, animator, musician and performer and combines them, too, in costumed interactive performances. Always an experience. It is part of the gallery's performance series for members, there might be a small charge. At Nationale thenewnationale.com 811 E Burnside Map 6PM

September 25 Qawwali قوٌالی at Yoga Shala

Qawwali is Sufi devotional music. A qawwali ensemble is called a "qawwali party", a perfect description of the transcendent state of the musicians and the audience. It is very old, but became popular in the West through the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has a connection here, he was a resident artist at the University of Washington. Breaking through in the UK in the 1980's, he came to UW in 1993, became known in the US and has been extensively remixed by world DJ's since his passing in 1997. This has created a new generation of Americans studying and performing qawwali, including women. Tonight's concert is that branch of new West qawalli. Tahir Qawwal, Ankush Vimawala & Barbi Joffe perform. Tahir Qawwali also performs as Fanna-fi-Allah. At Yoga Shala North www.yogashalapdx.com 3808 N Williams Doors 7PM, performance 8. $13 advance, $18 door

September 24-30 Mathew Barney's Cremaster Cycle Films

This is one of the most surreal films in the history of filmmaking. It was made over 8 years by artist Mathew Barney and sold by Barbra Gladstone Gallery in a limited edition of 20. All were sold, and subsequently reached high multiples of the original price at auction. The series is five films, made in the order of 1, 2, 4, 5, and lastly 3, totaling about 7 hours. They are not available commercially, they can only be seen at rare showings like this or by filesharing.

Barney was interested in sports in college days, the series starts with references to that. The rest ranges so far as to be indescribable; unbelievable these scenes were committed to film. The sets, costumes and cinematography are stunning. There is a lush cinematic soundtrack and little dialog. There is certainly no plot, it is more like a dream.

Strongly recommended. Cremaster 3 is 182 minutes, quite long. http://www.cinema21.com/prognotes10a.html#thecremastercycle At Cinema 21 616 NW 21st Consult the website for times and admission

September 24, 25 Some History of Experimental Film

Jonas Mekas was a Lithuanian refugee of WWII German labor camps who came to New York in 1949. The rest is history. Part of the New York creative community from then forward, Mekas documented his life obsessively, presaging many current filmmakers and the Youtube-Facebook culture, if not the sure to come videoTwitter. His work and influence is traced in the film, Visionaries: Jonas Mekas and the (mostly) American Avant-Garde; including comments by very important experimental filmmakers Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Ken Jacobs, Peter Kubelka, David Lynch and Andy Warhol. Mekas is also founder of the Anthology Film Archives, prolific writer, and still active today at 88. The film was developed and edited by Chuck Workman, well known for the Academy Award in memoriam montages. Film at the Art Museum Whitsell Auditorium, www.nwfilm.org-cinemaproject.org 1219 SW Park, Friday 7PM, Saturday 2&7 $8

September 17 SE Rules

Swedish Portlander Sanna-Lisa Gesang-Gottowt continues her exploration of borders with Exclusion/Inclusion, apropos as she is leaving our visa policy behind to greener Europastures. Gesang-Gottowt showed work on the same theme in Worksound's Berlin Wall show of last November. We wish her the best in representing the Portland art community in Europe! At Bamboo Grove bamboogrovesalon.com/Bamboo_Grove_Salon/Home.html 134 SE 2nd 6PM-9



Over at Nationale, there is a book signing and talk by Carson Ellis on Dillweed’s Revenge: A deadly Dose of Magic, her latest book illustration project. The illustrator has captured the author's darkness effectively. At Nationale thenewnationale.com 811 E Burnside Map 6PM



Nemo design is a branding and promotion creative business. They occasionally have art shows connected to their clients or client work. Some have been quite good. Tonight they have snowboarder photos: How Many Dreams In The Dark? by Chris Brunkhart. Brunkhart has boarded the world, but moved here for our year round mountain. His work is included in a boarding image book by Mike Parillo, Carl E. Smith, Dan Peterka, Alex Bacon, Matt Donahue and Zach Egge launching tonight at Nemo Design www.studionemo.com 1875 SE Belmont 6PM-10 Free



And if you need more there is an art opening organized by the Art Department www.artdeptpdx.com 6PM-late

September 15 On Collecting Photography

The Portland Art Museum is a Portland big thing. On the inside it is organized into special interest councils. One is the Photography Council. They have lunchtime presentations open to the public sometimes. Today they host a panel discussion on valuing photography. Ostensibly oriented to collectors, it's valuable to artists. The panel includes the new curator of photography, Julia Dolan, dealer Charles Hartman, appraiser Jennifer Stoots and collector Jim Winkler. The talk is in the Masonic Temple building, ask at the desk for directions to the room. At the Portland Art Museum www.pam.org 1219 SW Park. Noon Free

September 11 Worksound Triple Header Disjecta Double Header

Worksound has a triple header of Kim Donaldson, Michael Zheng and Laura Fritz. It continues Worksound's program of international artists mixed with Portland. Donaldson works in what could be Portland's sister city, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. There has been an interchange of artists between Portland and about four times larger Melbourne for a few years. Chinese artist Michael Zheng makes work in San Francisco. Portlander Laura Fritz makes sculpture and installation that's vaguely scientific and enigmatic. At Worksound At Worksound www.worksoundpdx.com 820 SE Alder Map 6PM-10



Disjecta shows paintings by Dutch Portland artist Henk Pander. Pander is known for a large body of large scale figurative oils with a dark to light tonal range and a serious, even dark tone. This show is no different; it is portraits, made between 1998 and 2010, of Mary Alice, a close granddaughter, raised by Pender and his late wife. Recommended. Also showing are patterns of rust on silk by Portland artist Rio Wrenn. Wrenn collects small pieces of steel turning to rust, often falling from speeding vehicles, too small to recycle but large enough to yet be consumed by oxidation. Wrenn has been making these rust marks in wall pieces and as pattern on clothing, poignantly mixing high and low, beauty and time's ravages. So in a way, it's a poetic pairing with Pander. At Disjecta, in the shadow of Paul Bunyan www.disjecta.org 8371 N. Interstate Map 6PM-10 Free

September 10 Second First Friday

Many galleries have taken a break, this month only. from First Friday, honoring Labor Day, but are back with a leisurely vengeance tonight.



Homeland has Dutch artist Marko de Kok, working in residency at Homeland. That little Homeland makes international residencies happen is f'n rad. At Gallery Homeland www.galleryhomeland.org 2505 SE 11th x Division



Nationale has an awesome new body of work from Portland fave Carson Ellis: illustrations for a little dark Dillweed’s Revenge: A deadly Dose of Magic, by writer Florence Parry Heide. Ellis taps current illustration currents, but with a lens on detail, sometimes a muted grey/brown/black palate, and quality. Her illustrations are quiet and focused. At Nationale thenewnationale.com 811 E Burnside Map



Land is the Portland instance of Buy Olympia. They have a gallery space upstairs and open tonight illustrations by Tae Won Yu. NoPo Mississippi, Killingsworth and others are figuring out their opening art strategy. Confirm to Portland First Friday or prototype a 1st, 2nd, 3rd. last, Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday? At Buy Olympia's Land Gallery www.landpdx.com 3925 N Mississippi 6PM-8

September 9 PNCA Talks & Father-Son Artists

Jane Bebee is a Portland gallerist. Her gallery, PDX Contemporary, is one of Portland's smartest. They have a consistent minimalist-quiet vibe. They participate in out of town art fairs, exporting Portland gallery artists to the big art world. Bebee worked as assistant for years at the Jameson-Thomas gallery, bridging Portland-NW regionalism with New York collectors. With the death of William Jameson from AIDS, Bebee established her own gallery.

Today she provides her thoughts to artists and gallerists on how to do it. From someone who has done it, that counts. At PNCA NW 13th and Johnson Noon-1:30PM Free



Later British graphic designer designer Jonathan Barnbrook speaks. Barnbrook is known for collaborations with Damien Hirst. His style is provocative and effective. He explains tonight his belief in graphic design as a tool for social change. At 421 NE 10th. Reception 5:30PM, talk 6:30 Free



Meanwhile over at Black Wagon, the father-son duo Martin Ontiveros and Felix Ontiveros show work together. The Ontiveros' have long shown at Grass Hut. At Black Wagon blackwagon.com 3964 N Mississippi Map 5PM-7

September 8-19 The Uncanny Valley

The Uncanny Valley is new. It's the evolution of an experimental theater work created by its actors. After months of work in residence at Reed College, it's back. It's a schematic space exploration of an unknown planet, that of memory. At Reed College Theater academic.reed.edu/theatre/productions/directions.html. More information at www.hand2mouththeatre.org September 8,9,10,16,17,19 7:30PM 18,19, 2PM. $8 advance, 10 door

September 4-6 Kumoricon

Kumoricon is Portland's small amime festival. It has a full program including late night items. Sure to be surreal. Full details at www.kumoricon.org.

September 4 The Boat Show: Watersports

Boats, especially big boats, are outside my experience. So anything involving them has an air of exoticism. But they can make great low rent platforms for art, floating free and sometimes moorage free, certainly outside some land based strictures. Former Portland artist Mary Mattingly has done a great job in NY aquaenvirons with her nomad Waterpod. There was a performance on a rented barge a few years ago, we need more. 12128 is an example. It's a working artist studio and sometime showspace at the confluence of the Willamette and Multnomah Channel. They are having a show of some noted artists including the studio collaborators: Matt Green, Philip Iosca, Chase Biado, Jeffry Mitchel, Carl Klimt, Justin Swinburne and Alex Felton tonight. Their press release, on the website, is copywriter of the month material. At 12128 Labrador Project www.labradorproject.com It's moored by Fred's Marina 12900 NW Marina Way, Portland. More detailed directions, don't get lost, on the website. 6PM-9 Free

September 3 Sun Wu-Kong

Portland has a small animation concentration, particularly in stop action. So it's not out of the blue that an animated opera, Sun Wu-Kong, The Monkey King, would be created here by Alexis Gideon. Sun Wu-Kong is based on the famous Ming Dynasty Chinese novel Journey to the West. The novel is fantastic and fascinating. One character is Sun Wu-Kong, who accompanies a Buddhist monk, the protagonist, in a quest for ancient sūtras on the Silk Road, from China to present day Afghanistan.

Gideon's musical and visual collaborators include Portland creatives Becca Taylor, Cynthia Star, Ezra Claytan Daniels, Rachel Blumberg, Cory Gray and Shelley Short.

It's an epic tale, through a Portland frame, tapping Chinese culture. We need much more of this given China's history and importance. World premiere, with the "making of" artifacts on display through September 5. At Disjecta www.disjecta.org 8371 N Interstate 8PM all ages $5

September 3 Eastside Art Openings

First Friday is split by venue between openings tonight and next Friday the 10th owing the Labor Day holiday and audience travel plans.



Golden Rule has a very interesting show, Making Sense, by Delphine Bedient. Bedient is working well across mediums, sometimes mixing them. She has a good eye for interior and exterior landscape photography; work involving thread and embroidery, including installation; found-reused materials; and a zine life as editor of Peep!. Some of this month's work is made from teabags of tea consumed and stains on paper of daily coffee grounds. Her work is part of a unique experiment in retail and family culture in that it is paired with a specific collection of vintage clothing in a shop that is gallery to both. At Golden Rule Gallery www.goldenruleportland.com 811 E Burnside, Suite 122 in the back



Carhole has Terminal Examination, by Liam Drain and Carmen Denison. This show examines formal education. Though we debate around the edges, formal education and its strictures are tightly woven into culture, from imperial China and ancient Greece, onward. Drain questions logic itself with book art and ceramics incorporating the symbol ≠, not equal. Denison infiltrates academia with textbooks and black/white boards of her own lessons, questioning education's foundations. At Car Hole Gallery 114 SE 12th x Ankeny 6PM-9:30ish



Mike Bray opens It Was Never About The Audience at Fourteen30. Bray makes sculpture, photographs and video. He is also a curator and arts organizer, cofounder of Springfield, Oregon's Ditch Projects, arguably the best thing that ever happened to Springfield since Matt Groening; and expertly tapping Northwest Twin Peaks mysticism. At Fourteen30 Gallery www.fourteen30.com 1430 SE 3rd 6PM-9



Kelly Rauer's Shaping Sequence continues at New American Art Union www.newamericanartunion.com 922 SE Ankeny



Redux has a charming show of fairy tale-inspired illustration by Julianna Swaney At Redux www.reduxpdx.com 811 E Burnside



The Art Department has a show of PSU graphic design graduates, Keeping It Together. Designers include Tally Gunstone, Rachel Yoakum, Crystal Peck, Kyla Tom, Jesse Matz, Marsha Lindsey, Sylvia Dihn, Jordan Lessler, Linda Lee, Kristina Morris and Amanda Benson. Music by Wild Hog in the Woods and Drunk on Pines. At the Art Department http://www.artdeptpdx.com/ 1315 SE 9th Avenue



Longtime Portland photographer Stewart Harvey shows I Am What I Need To Be, The Odyssey of Identity in New Orleans. New Orleans is a unique place. Even in the law, it is different than the country in incorporating French law. It has its Creole - Krio language, shared with West Africa. Harvey likens New Orleans' uniqueness to Portland's, which is quite a complement. This show is his photographic exploration of the people of New Orleans. At 23Sandy www.23sandy.com 623 NE 23 at Sandy 5PM-8



Bside6 continues with its installation series in the form of BIG shirt / little TOP by Elisa Linda Saethe At bSIDE6 524 E Burnside



Milepost 5 opens their latest, Hidden Among the Leaves, paintings by Stephen Plount At Milepost5 www.milepostfive.com 900 NE 81st (go by MAX) 6PM-9 Free